This invention relates to extruded elastomeric foams incorporating extremely fine, uniform cell structures, constructed for employment as a synthetic closure for liquid bearing vessels and, more particularly, to a process for producing such products as well as the product itself.
For many years, the wine industry has relied on natural cork as the sole product to seal wine bottles. However, there are several negative aspects which are inherent in the use of natural cork as a closure, all of which are disturbing to the industry and to consumers.
One of the principal drawbacks of natural cork is cork taint. Cork taint exists because of a chemical compound (2,4,6-trichloranisole or TCA), which is found naturally in the cork bark. This taint effects the odor and flavor of the wine and accounts for as much as 50% of the spoilage of all wine bottled with natural cork.
Another problem is broad diversity that exists for natural cork quality. In an attempt to deal with this problem, the cork industry has adopted standards which are subjective at best and generally relate to the number of lenticels, cracks and their sizes, overall aesthetics, smells and functionality, all of which are subject to the growing and harvesting conditions experienced in the cork growing regions of the world. Each individual cork is therefore unique unto itself in all of its characteristics and possesses a wide range of variations. These variations may cause as much as 20% spoilage of bottled wine, due principally to such physical characteristics as non-circular cross-sections, cork size, density, and cell sizes internal to the natural cork that cannot be seen during manual grading. These uncontrollable variations often cause leakage and unwanted oxidation of the wine.
A further drawback of natural cork is the fact that cork is an extremely limited resource. Natural cork bark is harvested from the cork oak which is only able to replenish itself on the order of once every 10 years. This, coupled with the fact that new plantings require 30 years to come to maturity, leaves the natural cork industry with limited ability to increase productivity to meet the demand of an ever-increasing commodity.
A final drawback is the cost of natural cork. Due to its limited availability, especially for higher quality products, and increasing demand, the cost of using cork products in the wine industry has seen a constant rise over the years. This trend probably will not shift as it is a limited resource and is a very labor intensive industry.
In spite of these difficulties and drawbacks, a majority of all wine bottles utilize a natural cork for their closures. As a result, both the wine industry and the consumers have accepted cork closures and have tolerated a certain level of defective product. As a result, efforts to develop a synthetic closure acceptable to the wine industry and consumers have not materialized, except in the area of screw caps, made from aluminum and plastic, and a small segment of molded closures. However, in spite of the industry""s desire to eliminate the inherent problems found with cork closures, prior to the present invention, no closure has been developed which is (1) able to maintain the ceremony of opening the wine bottle, (2) has none of the negative attributes of natural cork, (3) is aesthetically acceptable, (4) meets all the physical requirements of a high speed mass bottling, (5) is consistently reproducible, (6) meets all regulatory criteria, and (7) is cost effective in a mass production setting.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide closure means for containers which is manufacturable from synthetic materials and effectively closes and seals any desired bottle, container, package and the like.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure having the characteristic features described above which is manufacturable on a continuing production basis, thus providing lower manufacturing costs compared to natural closures and satisfying industry requirements for a removable bottle stopper which is producible substantially more economically than cork closure/stoppers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure having the characteristic features described above which meets or exceeds all of the requisite physical characteristics found in natural closures or stoppers such as cork.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above which is capable of simulating all of the visually aesthetic and tactile characteristics found in natural stoppers, such as cork, so as to be effectively a substitute for cork stoppers or closures for the wine industry, particularly its ends users in both appearance and feel.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above which is capable of being employed in conventional bottling equipment for being inserted into a bottle container without experiencing any unwanted physical damage.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above that can be substituted for a cork stopper in wine bottles, providing all of the desirable characteristics of conventional cork stoppers while also being removable from the bottle in the conventional manner without breaking.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above, which is physiologically neutral, capable of being sterilized, as well as capable of being formed to visually simulate any desired classification of natural cork.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above which is odorless, remains odorless in position, is tasteless, and only absorbs limited amounts of water.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above which is unaffected by diluted acids and bases as well as unaffected by most oils.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above which does not shrink, does not age, does not absorb mold or fungus, and resists damage from insects.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic closure or stopper having the characteristic features described above which can be mass produced on a continuing basis and eliminates any spoilage of wine due to cork taint.
Other and more specific objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.
By employing the present invention, all of the difficulties and drawbacks found in the prior art have been eliminated and an extruded synthetic closure capable of being manufactured continuously and providing a low cost product is achieved. In addition, the synthetic closure of the present invention possesses all of the physical and desirable visual characteristics required by the wine industry. As a result, the present invention achieves a synthetic closure usable in the wine industry as a bottle closure which is virtually equivalent in all respects to a natural cork closure.
One of the principal requirements imposed upon a closure for wine bottles is its sealing capability. In the wine industry, high speed corking machines are employed which subject the closures to extreme forces. These corking machines typically utilize a plurality of compression jaws, typically ranging between two and four, which radially compress the closure from its normal diameter to a substantially smaller diameter, which is about one third of its original size. Then, by employing a plunger or ram, the closure is forced from the jaws in the compressed mode directly into the neck of the bottle, wherein the closure is able to expand to its original diameter, sealing the bottle.
As a result of the construction of the compression jaws, a knife edge is created on each jaw member. Consequently, between two and four separate locations incorporate an inherent knife edge formed on the jaw element. These knife edges often crease or score the outer surface of the closure, unless the closure is sufficiently elastic in nature to be able to resist this scoring or creasing action. In many instances, creasing or scoring of the closure causes the bottle of wine to leak or allows the transfer of the outside atmosphere into the bottle, causing oxidation of the wine and rendering the wine unpalatable.
In the present invention, the formulation employed for attaining a synthetic closure achieves a resulting product which is capable of resisting the compressive forces imposed on the closure by the corking jaws, as well as resisting any permanent scoring or creasing of the outer surface. In addition, the synthetic closures of the present invention also possess a high compression recovery rate, enabling the synthetic closure of the present invention to return to at least 96% of its original diameter upon exiting the jaws of the corking machines. In this way, the synthetic closure of the present invention is capable of providing all of the desired attributes for attaining a viable closure for the wine industry, enabling the closure to be employed in normal production equipment for completely sealing the wine bottle upon insertion therein.
Another feature of the present invention is the ability to attain a synthetic closure which is capable of receiving and cooperating with any desired surface treatment. In this way, the extraction forces required to remove the synthetic closure of the present invention from a wine bottle is easily controlled.
Extraction force is typically defined as the force a person of ordinary strength must exert to remove the closure from the one bottle without undue stress or strain. Typically, between about 40 pounds and 80 pounds of pulling force is required. In the present invention, the synthetic closure defined herein is capable of easily meeting this standard, due to the compatibility of the formulation of the present invention with conventional surface treatments. In addition, this compatibility also enables the closure of the present invention to incorporate any other treatment typically required for controlling insertion depth.
Another feature of the present invention is the attainment of a synthetic closure which has a neutral smell or aroma and does not impart any objectionable fragrance, smell or aroma to the wine itself. In this way, the normal wine fragrance is not disturbed and the flavor sensation associated with a particular vintage or type of wine is not negatively impacted. Furthermore, the present invention does not impact unwanted flavors to the wine, allowing the wine to remain with all of its natural flavor.
In addition to attaining all of these physical attributes, the formulation of the synthetic closure of the present invention also needs or exceeds all requirements of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, enabling the closure to be used in direct contact with food products. Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, unique color concentrates are capable of being integrated into the formulation. In this way, the synthetic closure of the present invention may be formulated with a visual appearance virtually identical to natural cork. In this regard, the growth rings typically associated with natural cork are able to be emulated by the synthetic closure of the present invention. Furthermore, if desired, any coloring can be imparted into the synthetic closure to provide a unique visually distinctive product, as well as provide a surface upon which any printed indicia, such as logos, dates, characters, etc. can be applied to the surface of the synthetic closure.
The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described, as well as the several steps in relationship of one of more steps with respect to each of the other and producing the article of manufacture defined herein, with the scope of the invention being indicated in the claims.